Sweep Me Off My Feet

Chapter 11

Hearing Michael say that he had only married her to her to get the bad press off his back and get his company rating back to where it was hurt Angela more than she could tell. She had half a mind to confront him, but at the same time, she did not want to go to him without all the facts. She ran back upstairs and went straight to her bed. She sat down and took a long deep breath. She had tried as much as she could not to get sucked into the media frenzy of what was going on with Michael. She had made that decision before she even started that rollercoaster relationship with Michael. She made that decision back when he was still just her boss and now, she was choosing to involve herself in his business because he had involved her. She bit her lip and took a long, deep breath before she searched Michael’s name and company.

“Oh, wow…” There were so many results, she felt overwhelmed.

She reached for her earphones and plugged them in before she leaned back on the bed. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the many articles and videos. Michael was getting more press than Harry and Meghan, and that was not a good thing. She clicked on one of the videos and felt her heart sink when she listened to what the members had to say.

“…This was definitely a Hail Mary marriage. That is why no one knew that he was even seeing this girl…”

“….Michael O’Brien had previously stated that he was single and that is less than two months ago… and now he is hitched? To a black girl no less?”

“…First, he marries a woman of color and in the same week, The Big O rolls out a campaign with new models of color. Coincidence? I don’t think so…”

She dropped the phone and leaned back on the headboard with her eyes closed. She felt a tear rolling down her cheek.

“Of course this was too good to be true,” she thought as she brushed off the tear. “I should have seen this… I should have known…”

Suddenly, her body and mind were no longer working together. She bolted from the bed and raced downstairs. She needed answers and by God, she was going to have them. Her mood was written all over her face when she got to the living room. Michael had a smile on his face, but it soon disappeared when he saw the expression on her face.

“What’s wrong, baby?” he asked and she shook her head.

“Why did you marry me?” she asked, simply. “Why the hell would a man marry a woman he barely knows?”

“I told you… we had a connection,” Michael said simply.

“Really? So it had nothing with the fact that The Big O was suddenly losing millions in revenue because no one wanted to associate with a… what was it they called you? Oh yeah, a confederate business?”

Michael shook his head and got up.

“Look, Angie… I know that people are not exactly saying good things about me or my business, but they are wrong. I am not racist… it never occurred to me that my human resources department were only hiring white models…”

“You lied to me.” Another tear rolled down her cheek.

Michael shook his head and walked up to where she was. He held her but she pushed him away, angry.

“Do not touch me…” she started before he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Okay, Angie, I need you to listen to me and pay attention to what I am saying to you,” he started in a voice so calm it scared her. “I did use you for publicity, but that does not mean that I am not committed to you. However, if you choose to leave, I promise you I will ruin you.”

She shook her head.

“You wouldn’t…”

“Try me,” he said in an icy tone. “Don’t forget, this is not only about you. It is about your best friend as well.”

Angela raised an eyebrow over the other, confused.

“Candy?” she asked. “What are you talking about?”

“I guess you have both been too busy to fill each other in on what is going on. She is one of the new models at The Big O. Do you know what bad press from the new wife of the proprietor of the business could do to her new career?” He took a step closer to Angela and gently held her face. Using his thumbs, he wiped off her tears and then stroked the side of her face. “And what about Brandon? He loved his new school and I love spending time with him. So are you just going to destabilize him so soon after he has started on his new routine?” He shook his head. “Be smart, baby. Be smart.”

He walked away, leaving her standing there, broken and defeated. It was like having her entire world shattered in just a few minutes. She sunk to her knees and just let the tears flow. This was her new reality. She had just seen the other side of Michael, the real Michael O’Brien, and what she hated more than anything was that he made a lot of sense. He did have a great relationship with Brandon and getting him out of there meant confusing him. She wanted to scream.

This was the most disappointing moment ever since she found out what a big mistake she had made with Brandon’s father and now, here she was in the same position with yet another man who treated her like sh*t. And the worst thing about her new mistake was that she had made a lifetime commitment to him. She had gone from being a woman in love to a woman surviving in her marriage, cooking and cleaning. That was what was going to keep her going. Cooking and cleaning for her son and for him too.